I did see a post on this subject in Audio/Receiver section. BUT I want to just do a comparison on video for AVM50 vs. DVDO vp50. Which would produce a better video. And in SD.

Thanks

I did see a post on this subject in Audio/Receiver section. BUT I want to just do a comparison on video for AVM50 vs. DVDO vp50. Which would produce a better video. And in SD.

Thanks

I had both the VP50 and the Anthem D2 for some time and it depend of the source material. On HD material there is a small edge on the D2 for SD material they are about the same. As a result I sold the VP50 and kept the D2 since it so much convenient to use with source that provide audio on HDMI. There are a few more tweaking features on the VP50 compared to the D2.

Note the Video Processor section of the both the Anthem AVM50 and Anthem D2 are Identical.

I had both the VP50 and the Anthem D2 for some time and it depend of the source material. On HD material there is a small edge on the D2 for SD material they are about the same. As a result I sold the VP50 and kept the D2 since it so much convenient to use with source that provide audio on HDMI. There are a few more tweaking features on the VP50 compared to the D2.

Note the Video Processor section of the both the Anthem AVM50 and Anthem D2 are Identical.
Thanks. Can you please tell me what you connected the d2 to?

Does the AVM50 do lossless audio over PCM?

Does the AVM50 do lossless audio over PCM?Yes.

Yes.

Is (and will) the Anthem AVM50 upgradeable to HDMI 1.3?

Is (and will) the Anthem AVM50 upgradeable to HDMI 1.3?
Good question. Does anyone know this?

Is (and will) the Anthem AVM50 upgradeable to HDMI 1.3?

The short answer to your question is yes.

The long answer regarding HDMI from Anthem is as follows:

"The HDMI version 1.1 standard, as implemented in the Anthem® Statement D2 and AVM 50, supports all mandatory surround formats in the HD-DVD and Blu-ray standards, including Blu-ray’s mandatory 5.1-channel PCM up to 192 kHz/24 bits. The Anthem Digital Video Processing used in the Statement D2 and AVM 50 is still way ahead of the mainstream in these areas."

"It may be years before functional consumer products are on the market taking advantage of new capabilities, if ever! Although products may begin appearing with the next version of HDMI, they are unlikely to offer any of the potential enhancements to the consumer. We can expect the same slow implementation for any new standard just as with past updates, and there is nothing to gaurantee even one new feature will be added for Home Theater product applications. To quote the most recent announcement: "At first, however, not all video sources incorporating v1.3 may be able to generate such refresh rates, color bit depth, or viewable colors, and not all displays with 1.3 may be able to reproduce such enhancements.""

So what's the bottom line?

"It means the current Anthem HDMI implementation will do everything currently available products demand (and then some). And rest assured, when (and if) products become available that can actually take advantage of new HDMI version “1.whatever” capabilities (both source components and display components), Anthem will have products, and upgrades for existing products (as feasible), that will incorporate these enhancements."

Sorry for the long winded response but sometimes it's better to give an answer right from the horse's mouth. ;)

Actually, it sounds like the short answer is maybe. The catch is that little phrase "as feasible".

- Dale Adams

Actually, it sounds like the short answer is maybe. The catch is that little phrase "as feasible".

- Dale Adams

Yes that's absolutely true. If I were running Anthem, and given all the uncertainty in this industry when it comes to compatibility, implementation etc . . . , there's no way I would guarantee anything. At least not if I want to keep my job. :)

Here's some more info about the "benefits":

"Video – Deep Color: Not yet available on any source. There aren’t any sources that actually have more than 8 effective/real bits of color information (with the possible exception of a high-end gaming computer video card, but with no game to utilize it). To become a usable feature, a lot more than the HDMI connection would have to change: First, video production, then storage and broadcast, and of course your home display. For carrying HDTV, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray, more than enough bandwidth is provided by HDMI v1.1. No monitors accept the latest version of HDMI that supports deep color yet and when they do they may not utilize more than 8 bits color anyway. And just in case they do, deeper colors are available right now on the Anthem processors if you use 4:2:2 output setting, which uses the 10-bit color output of the Gennum chip.

Audio – Dolby TrueHD: Decoding is provided right in hi-def sources such as the PS3 and several HD-DVD players. A source containing TrueHD decoding is identified by the logo on its faceplate. With a lossless audio format there is no performance advantage to moving the decoding out of the source and into the preamp. Plus, it makes no difference whether the source's HDMI output is v1.1 or v1.3 when sending this multichannel PCM (i.e. decoded) audio to a current Anthem processor. (Side Note: Sending Dolby TrueHD across HDMI v1.3 causes loss of interactive audio features built into the disc, such as language selection.)

Audio – DTS-HD: According to DTS’s most current information their lossless format will be decoded inside the player (as is being done with TrueHD) and outputted to the processor as multichannel PCM.

Lip Sync Adjustment: This will only benefit low-end equipment with weak video processing. It does nothing for Hi-Def sources and will offer no advantages with our Anthem high-speed video processing. And no, it will not fix poor broadcasts or bad disc authoring!""

It's really a non-issue right now and probably for some time to come.

Actually, it sounds like the short answer is maybe. The catch is that little phrase "as feasible".

- Dale Adams

Less then 2 years after coming out with the Anthem D1, Anthem were able to perform a hardware upgrade with a Gennum scaler to make an Anthem D1 exactly like a D2, minus the front plate stickers. So if they were able to design and implement a Gennum scaler in a pre/pro, and also to be the first with a working Gennum scaler on the market last year, they will be able to upgrade the D2 to HDMI 1.3 if we really need it.

Don't you think? I think they already show they could do something like that really fast. Faster then the dedicated scaler manufacturers.

And maybe then HDMI 1.4 will be announced. Who knows? :D

Less then 2 years after coming out with the Anthem D1, Anthem were able to perform a hardware upgrade with a Gennum scaler to make an Anthem D1 exactly like a D2, minus the front plate stickers. So if they were able to design and implement a Gennum scaler in a pre/pro, and also to be the first with a working Gennum scaler on the market last year, they will be able to upgrade the D2 to HDMI 1.3 if we really need it.

Don't you think?All I could do is speculate, just as you're doing (although you state things a bit more categorically than simple speculation - do you perhaps work for them or have an inside information source?). Anthem, who would actually be responsible for doing it, says "as feasible" and only makes a reference to HDMI "v1.whatever" in the original quote from them posted by Jim E. If anything, Anthem goes to great lengths to explain why their current HDMI v1.1 implementation is perfectly adequate (and I don't necessarily disagree with their marketing spiel on this). That's a long way from them saying that "they will be able to upgrade the D2 to HDMI 1.3".

- Dale Adams

Dale once again appears correct. The answer is maybe. The new Sony displays coming this fall will implement 1.3 and within a year the HDMI folks will announce the next revision of HDMI. It don't think it will be called 1.4. My guess is marketing will make it the 2.0.

I don't know about that, we seem to have run out of things in the HD-DVD/BD/1080p/Color areas that could be implemented on a wire. I mean, what's left? Already we have several features in the transmission (HDMI) that BD/HD-DVD don't support.

When 4K devices or their consumer equivalents become available, consumers should definitely be looking for post-HDMI 1.3 specs, but for now, what could they add that consumers might care about?

Obviously I'm not saying that HDMI 1.3 is end of the line for HDMI, but I think BD/HD-DVD/1080p consumers shouldn't want for lack of some HDMI 1.3+ standard. There are just some tiny things in 1.3 vs. 1.1 that are nice, but even there the practical benefits are slim.

I think the next thing we'll see that consumers could be excited about will be more of a side step - wireless HDMI.

Is (and will) the Anthem AVM50 upgradeable to HDMI 1.3?
It can not be done by software upgrade alone. It would require a hardware change -- at the very least for new HDMI driver chips. Of course once you start talking hardware change then anything is doable -- for a price. The current expectation is that Anthem is in no hurry to chase HDMI V1.3.

There's a metric ton more information on the D2 and AVM-50 in the Anthem D2/AVM50 "tweaking" thread in the amps/receivers/processors forum here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=678260

It is best to read the first post of that thread and then go all the way to the end and start reading backwards, as a lot of the discussion in early posts is, by now, outdated.
--Bob